


The Odds of a Happy Ending

by nightfall_meets_daybreak



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Disney References, F/M, I don't know how to properly tag stuff help, Movie: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Movie: Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Movie: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Spoilers, reylo au, these will all be based off Disney Princess stories
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:03:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21973270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightfall_meets_daybreak/pseuds/nightfall_meets_daybreak
Summary: Not all stories end with “happily ever after” even though that is considered the norm, how things should really end. Ben and Rey, two disparate souls cruelly reuniting again in each lifetime, struggle to achieve their happy ending with each other. What are they doing wrong? And when they finally get it right, how do they repeat something like that?
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	The Odds of a Happy Ending

**Author's Note:**

> This is my very first Reylo fanfic, and my first fanfic in general in a very long time. I apologize if it’s lacking, or if there’s already another fic like this out there. It takes a lot of courage to post, so I admire all you writers out there. TROS really sparked something in me; it’s about time I contribute back to the Reylo fandom. There really is healing in art. This is in Ben Solo’s honor. 
> 
> Also I don’t know if the correct term is “Easter egg”, but try to guess which story each “lifetime” is based on.
> 
> \- - - - 
> 
> I also want to dedicate this to this girl I’ve crushed on for five years –  
> If you ever see this, or stumble across this: I know I keep messing up, and I’m sorry. I don’t know how many more times it’ll take for us to just get it right, or if we’ll ever get it right, but I want to believe in happy endings. If you ever see this, I want you to know that you remain my strongest muse. I’ve always written sad stories with tragic endings, but after TROS, I don’t want that anymore. I want a happy ending for once.

**I.**

> _I’m wishing for the one I love to find me today..._
> 
> _One love that has possessed me... My heart keeps singing of one love only for you._

* * *

He was supposed to kill her. Emperor Palpatine said that the girl was a threat to the First Order, which was detrimental to the rebirth of his Empire. And if the Empire failed to be reborn, then Kylo Ren’s curse will never be lifted—or so the Emperor claimed.

Ren didn’t exactly know what the curse explicitly is, but over time he accepted the implication that he may never be as strong as his grandfather, Darth Vader. But he wanted to be: what was a better way to prove to the galaxy that had so wronged him, that they had underestimated him, that he was so much more powerful than they had ever thought so that he was more than deserving of their respect and praise? Apologies won’t save them; forgiveness was far gone from his nature. But they will be sorry, and they will bow. They will fear him—they deserved it. Every dirty look casted his way, every snicker he heard behind his back, every proof of his terrible loneliness growing up will be erased with his power. But no matter how menacing he may appear, especially with his mask, a thought constantly prodded at him from the back of his mind: they will not see him as worse as Vader, and therefore, they will have that spark of hope that someone will turn him back to the light as Luke Skywalker had done.

No. Kylo Ren would not let that happen. He will prove that he was beyond going back, that it was too late to turn—

Until one night, he was struck with a dream of a girl.

He would’ve mistaken her for one of those Resistance pilots due to the helmet she kept at her side—if not for the fact that she was dressed in light desert garb, and that she sat upon a fallen AT-AT walker, looking up at the night sky, not an X-wing or droid in sight nearby. She was completely alone. And for the first time in many years, Ren felt his heart soften. The girl looked skinny from malnourishment; her exposed skin was red and peeling, burnt from the desert sun; her brown hair was tied back into three buns while messy strands framed her tanned face—and yet, she looked beautiful. But it wasn’t her beauty that captivated him the most: despite the hopeful expression she tried to maintain as she looked up at the stars, as if waiting—or wishing—for someone to come to her, there was no mistaking the sadness in her brown eyes. And it pulled at Ren’s heart, for he understood.

When he woke up, he was slightly disturbed at how that dream had impacted him more than he wanted. His heart felt heavy, but like that of a storm cloud than stone. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. As he strode through the halls of the Finalizer, summoned by the Emperor, his head wasn’t held up as high like usual. His gaze was mostly directed towards the ground. If any stormtroopers or officers noticed, they knew it was best not to mention anything, aware of his tendency to have violent outbursts.

“There is _something_ on your mind,” the Emperor told him as Ren entered the dark room, his words slow and knowing, his glowing holographic figure not flickering enough that he looked as if he were really physically there.

Ren had to lift his chin and straighten his shoulders; he had never been so self-conscious of his posture before. He was glad his mask hid his face for he had never felt so anxious in the Emperor’s presence—but of course, the latter didn’t need to see his face. The Emperor had already sensed his troubles. “ _Someone_ ,” his crackling voice added.

“It’s no one,” Ren responded, perhaps a bit too hastily. He bit his tongue. What was happening to him? He was better than this at controlling— _hiding_ —his emotions.

“It’s a girl,” the Emperor continued, disregarding the former’s lie. “Strong in the Force—as strong as _you_... and therefore a threat to your Order—our future Empire. She is located on the desert planet, Jakku... afraid, and vulnerable.” Kylo dreaded the next words that left his master’s mouth. “ _Kill her._ ”

* * *

Ren’s command shuttle was already prepared by the time he got down to the hangar. The Emperor probably sent out the order, not leaving him any choice but to obey. A squad of stormtroopers were meant to accompany him but—as a subconscious act of defiance—Ren dismissed them, wanting to go to Jakku alone. He would’ve personally taken his TIE Silencer, but to call off his command shuttle along with the troops would certainly bring unwanted attention to the Emperor. Reluctantly, he entered the ship.

As he sat in the back, he leaned forward, allowing his shoulders to sag. It was only him, with the flight officer pilot and copilot at the front; he was grateful that no one was around to see him like this. He bowed his head, his eyes closing behind his mask. He thought of the girl: her sunburnt skin, her brown hair...

Her beautiful face suddenly disappeared behind a desert headdress that matched the rest of her outfit, her sad eyes now hidden behind her own mask. She was entering somewhere dark, haunted—a hollow, metal shell of scraps and ghosts.

So she wasn’t a Resistance pilot—or anyone affiliated with the Resistance at all. “ _A scavenger,_ ” he whispered.

The girl gasped and spun around, immediately pointing her staff directly at him. “Who’s there?” she called out, her voice echoing. Ren froze, but the girl didn’t attack him. “Who’s _there?_ ” she repeated, her fierce voice masking any fear she had. She scanned the area, making it seem like she didn’t actually _see_ him—even though to him it was like he was really standing there with her.

“I’m supposed to kill you,” Ren replied, his voice low yet eerily soft.

The scavenger stiffened and looked around, trying to locate the source of his voice. She even backed away towards the daylight. “ _Why?_ ” she demanded. “Who _are_ you?”

Ren was silent. He didn’t know whether to respond, or if he should even respond at all. But he did know that he didn’t want the girl to be afraid of him. “Someone who doesn’t want to kill you,” he said.

For the briefest second, he thought she had lowered her staff, even a bit. But she shook her head to herself and raised it again, prodding at the empty space in front of her. “Show yourself!” she said, unrelenting. He found something... _admirable_ in that.

So Ren was really about to do just that. He lifted his hands to his mask—and the dream ended.

He was awoken by the feel of the shuttle descending.

“Sir, we are approaching the village of Tuanul—”

“No,” Ren spoke firmly, trying to pull himself together, trying to recover from the dream, trying to shake the girl’s voice from his mind. “The scavenger isn’t there. She’s in a graveyard.”

“A... graveyard, sir?”

“Of ships.” Ren wasn’t sure why he was so confident with this information, but he didn’t express his uncertainty. “A star destroyer from the Battle of Endor. She’s there.”

He noticed the two exchange a glance. His hand slowly balled up into a tight fist...

“Yes, sir,” they submitted, and Ren felt the shuttle ascend again, looking for a giant wreckage among the never-ending sea of sand.

* * *

The shuttle landed at the mouth of the star destroyer engine, which was probably where most of the scavengers entered to tear the giant apart, like insects to a corpse, until it became nothing more than a worthless skeleton. It would take a long time, but they were getting there.

Ren stood there for a long time, looking in to the darkness, sensing the ghosts, trying to imagine the final moments of those onboard before they crashed—as they crashed. _This is where the Empire failed_ , he thought. _The First Order will not make the same mistake..._

He entered the cave. It was quiet in ways he didn’t like, with many hiding places perfect for ambushers and thieves. But he wasn’t afraid. Anyone who dared challenge him would meet the end of his ragged cross-guard lightsaber.

Which brought him to remember the girl: wielding her staff, pointing it at him, ready to attack him if he were actually physically there with her. Surely she would not stand a chance against his lightsaber, and yet...

The Emperor claimed that she was as strong in the Force as he himself was. If that were true, maybe she did stand a chance against him after all. She would go down fighting, so at least he wouldn’t have the burden of striking down a helpless scavenger girl.

Ren tried to sense her presence within the star destroyer, tried closing his eyes and picturing her. She must’ve left hours before he’d arrived. Where would she have gone? He thought back to the dream where he first saw her: sitting atop a fallen AT-AT.

An AT-AT, one of the most integral vehicles in the Imperial Army, was meant to carry at least fifty people. To see this one fallen on its side in the sand was a sad sight: abandoned and alone, just like the scavenger girl.

The scavenger girl. She was sitting outside but not on top of the heated metal exposed to the desert sun, but on the sand, where it was probably cool from the shade the AT-AT provided. She was eating what looked like ration packs from the days of the Empire. First Order ration packs were, of course, a lot better than that now, but even Ren was aware of how one would grow sick of the stuff over a period of time if that was the only food ever consumed. How long was this girl living off of that stuff?

He didn’t have time to dwell on the food nor did she have the time to finish eating it—for a cry of distress was heard just a distance away. The girl, dropping her food in the sand, instantly got up and grabbed her staff, heading towards the direction of the trouble. Ren followed close behind her.

The girl saw a group of four thugs surrounding an old traveler. He was crouched on the ground, trying to protect both himself and his possessions as the thugs pushed and grabbed at him. “Help me!” the old man begged. “Don’t let them kill me...”

The voice sounded familiar to Ren, but he couldn’t quite place it—as if a fog was blocking something in his mind, preventing him from recognizing it.

The girl rushed towards the five, baring her teeth and raising her staff. “Stop!” she cried. “Leave him alone!” She swung at one of the thugs’ heads and Ren heard a crack before the body slumped to the ground. The thugs suddenly turned their attention to her, thinking they outnumbered her, but Ren and the girl both knew that they were wrong.

They came at her all at once but the girl blocked two of their attacks while managing to kick the third one away. Ren placed a hand on his lightsaber to help her, but he remembered that he wasn’t actually _there_. And a strange force was preventing him from moving anyway; all he could do was stand and watch. He heard the old man whimpering, “I can’t... Don’t kill me... please...”

The girl pivoted and swung her staff, catching one of the thugs in the stomach and sending him to the ground. She slammed the end of her staff onto the other’s masked face, and Ren heard a disturbing crunch.

Two were left for her to face. One of them grabbed her from behind and lifted her up—in which Ren felt anger boil within him at the sight—but the girl bit down hard on her captor’s fingers, causing him to cry out and let her go. Distracted, she was able to knock him out easily with her staff.

The remaining thug, realizing how stronger the scavenger girl was, tried to flee, but she didn’t let him escape. She reached out with her staff to trip him, making him fall flat on his face. He was sputtering sand when she kicked him over so that he may face her; she jabbed hard at his throat with the end of her staff, and he was silent.

She was breathing hard through gritted teeth, the adrenaline wearing off. Then Ren noticed the tough expression on her face slowly fall into horror at her actions, her mouth dropping open as she looked around. He could sense it; none of the thugs were breathing. They were dead. The girl looked like she was about to cry, and Ren just wanted to reach out to her, hold her close to him, comfort her...

But then she remembered the old traveler who she’d just saved, groaning in pain, repeating the same thing over and over, “Don’t kill me... don’t...”

“I’m not going to kill you,” the girl said, kneeling by the old man’s side. Ren realized this was the first time he heard her speak softly. So far he had only seen her as fierce and, to an extent, _vicious_. And he knew where that behavior stemmed from: from constantly being betrayed, hurt, and beaten. He understood. And yet she was still capable of such compassion—unlike him. “Come on, get up,” she said, her voice gentle, holding out her hand.

“I’m too weak,” the old man said. “I can’t...”

“No, here, I’ll help you.” The girl reached behind the old man’s back and helped him sit up, before taking his arm and helping him stand up. He stumbled and limped, truly acting wounded—yet for some reason, Ren sensed that the old man was just acting.

The girl slung her staff over her shoulder so that she may better help escort the traveler to her AT-AT. She noticed him glance around at the four bodies lying in the sand around them. “Don’t worry,” she said, though Ren caught a slight quiver in her voice. “They’re... they’re unconscious.”

“No, my dear,” the old man said. “They’re dead.”

The girl swallowed. “No,” she said, trying to deny it. “No... I...”

“You did what you needed to do,” he reassured her. “You saved my life.”

Her brow furrowed but she eventually nodded anyway. “Yeah.”

“And I thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Ren sensed how uneasy she felt now with the old man, and how pleased _he_ felt. Something was wrong.

The girl led the traveler to the bottom hatch of her AT-AT that she used as a front door. She glanced down, nearly heartbroken, at the remains of her food that she had hastily dropped on the sand when she got up to help the traveler. “I... I’m sorry I don’t have any food left to offer. I have a little bit of water left, but...” She hesitated, and a pained look crossed her face when her stomach growled.

The old man chuckled. “It’s all right, my dear,” he said, his comforting words almost coming off as creepy. “I have somewhere to be so I cannot stay long. Though I am grateful for you saving my life. Let _me_ repay you...” He reached into his cloak.

The girl’s eyes widened. “No! It’s all right, I can’t—”

She stopped herself when the old man revealed to her a bright red fruit, more solid than polystarch and fresher than veg-meat. Her eyes widened, her mouth watered, and her stomach growled again. An image appeared in Ren’s mind, of traders carrying small crates of those precious fruits, of Rey’s desire to taste one, even a scrap of it.

And the old man sensed her desire as well, an unsettling grin growing on his face. “It’s yours, my dear.”

And the girl reached out to take it, so hypnotized by the red that she didn’t notice the yellow eyes gradually glowing on the old man’s face as he channeled something dark into the fruit.

And it was then that Kylo Ren realized the truth. “ _NO!_ ” he screamed out, but the girl didn’t hear him for the dream—the vision—ended. And the retreat was so sudden that he knew the Emperor was behind it all, continuing to manipulate events and control the story as he always did.

Ren blinked and he was facing the open desert, still standing at the mouth of the remains of the star destroyer. The sun was already setting. And it was so quiet that it was nearly impossible that anything else could be happening on the planet. But the girl was in danger.

He rushed back to his shuttle, heading for the cockpit.

“Sir—?”

Ren Force-threw the pilot back to the passenger space. “I’m flying,” he insisted, determined.

* * *

Ren remembered the vision of the girl eyeing the traders with the crates of fruit, so he knew to look for a trading outpost—not a village. And because of how active those areas were, they shouldn’t be too hard to find. And if the girl went to that outpost to trade junk for food, then her AT-AT home shouldn’t be too far from there.

But while those landmarks helped him in terms of giving him a direction, it turned out that Ren didn’t need to look so aimlessly—the closer he got to her, the more he felt... like his heart was beating again. He felt _alive_ and light, and he liked it. He saw the abandoned AT-AT up ahead.

And suddenly, the feeling stopped.

For a moment Ren thought he was going to die—he _wanted_ to die. And the damn shuttle was taking its time descending. “Take the controls,” he ordered the copilot before pressing a button to open the cockpit. He then jumped out, relying on the sand to cushion his fall, performing a roll to reduce impact and help give him a running start towards the opening of the AT-AT. Though his mask prevented sand from getting in his face, he stumbled where the ground was less stable. But he was determined— _desperate_ —to get to the girl, to make sure she was okay.

He force-opened the hatch door and nearly tripped inside, looking around and—

There she was, on the ground, the core of the red fruit not far from her outstretched fingers.

“ _No_ ,” Ren gasped breathlessly as he fell to his knees at her side. He was afraid to touch her—afraid that she would break or wither or fade away—afraid that she would not react at all.

He trembled as he reached out for her—her skin felt so cold beneath his gloved hands. She had to have been dead for a long while—so what was that light feeling that he felt just moments before that led him to her? The Force? No, it had to be a trick from the Emperor. Had he sensed Ren’s hesitation and unwillingness to follow orders and kill the girl? Was his dismissal of the troops that were to accompany him really a big deal? Perhaps the Emperor just wanted to make sure that Ren did find the girl— _dead_ —as a reminder of who was really in control.

He should’ve been here sooner.

There was nothing he could do for her now, but he decided that he could at least not leave her lying on the ground. He lifted her body up effortlessly—she was so light—and he carried her to the hammock he noticed nearby. Was this really where she slept every night? Were these really the conditions she lived in? _Powerful in the Force..._ hell, what did she do to deserve death like this? It didn’t make sense, it was beyond unfair...

He couldn’t shake the nagging thought in the back of his mind that maybe, it was all his fault that this happened to her. He hesitated to follow the Emperor’s order, but he also failed to warn her.

Tears welled up in Ren’s eyes and he hastily removed his mask, throwing it violently to the side in anguish. There was a crash and a clutter of things fell from the table. When he looked over, his breath was caught in his throat when he saw the many thousands of tally marks scarring the metal wall. Was she counting the days? To what? _From_ what?

It didn’t matter now, Ren told himself bitterly. She was dead. And he didn’t even know her name.

He looked around desperately, trying to find any hint of who she is. Knowing would probably give him some peace of mind; he could perhaps do or dedicate something in her honor, another subtle act of defiance against the Emperor—

This was the type of thinking that got her killed.

Squeezing his eyes shut, causing tears to fall, Ren curled his hands up into fists and slammed them into the wall with a yell. A couple of items fell from the top from the impact. Through his blurred vision, Ren lifted his head to look back at the tally marked-wall, trying to locate its beginning. And there, at the very top-left, hidden in a dark corner, were three letters spelling out her name: _REY_.

“ _Rey,_ ” he whispered out loud, trying her name on his lips.

And suddenly, he felt that light feeling return to his chest—that good feeling of being—

 _alive_.

He looked back, perhaps a bit too quickly, expecting to see the girl stirring and waking up. But no, her lifeless body remained still—and yet, the feeling didn’t leave him. Then a thought occurred to him: maybe, just maybe, he could...

Ren slowly approached her body, removing his glove from his right hand, trembling with hope that his idea would work. He knelt by her hammock. He could’ve sworn that she was just asleep, that she would wake up—but when he placed his hand over her stomach, he sensed no life in her. It was all in _him_.

He inhaled deeply and let out a shaky breath before closing his eyes and concentrating, locating that feeling of life within him and embracing it, grasping it, somehow channeling it to his hand to transfer over to fill Rey’s body, to counter and remove the effects of whatever the Emperor had poisoned her with. And Ren _did_ feel life returning to her, slowly if not all at once. He didn’t notice the corners of his mouth subconsciously forming a hopeful smile, relieved that it was working—

But something was wrong. The more he remained like that, the more he transferred life into her, the more he gradually felt _empty_ , like it was draining his own life-force... and yet he didn’t stop. It was strangely familiar, feeling so empty, but he already missed being so—

Rey woke up gasping and coughing, instantly sitting up that she nearly rolled off her hammock.

Ren had never felt such _happiness_ , seeing her alive, knowing his plan worked. But he didn’t have enough time to enjoy that feeling, he felt so exhausted—

He only caught a glimpse of Rey looking at his direction before he collapsed to the ground on his side.

“What... _Hey!_ ” he heard her gasp, scrambling off her hammock and to his side. No one has ever shown such concern over him before.

“Wait—hold on...” He felt her roll him over onto his back, her desperate hands feeling his chest, shaking his shoulders, cupping his face, trying to wake him up. Her skin was warm again.

He struggled to crack open his eyes, just to catch a glimpse at her face—worried and horrified, but bright and beautiful and _alive_. That was all that mattered to him as he drifted off into unconsciousness.

“Come back!” she begged. “No—please—stay with me here...”

He wanted to believe that he would wake up in her arms. But why did this feel so much like the end?

“ _Be with me..._ ”

 _In another life_ , a thought echoed in his mind as he faded quicker than he’d wanted. _Perhaps, in another life... Rey..._

**Author's Note:**

> I was going somewhere with this when I started then... the ending happened.
> 
> But yeah, this is based off Snow White. I’m planning to place Rey and Ben in stories going down the Disney Princess timeline, and string them all together. I’m hoping to keep working on it and actually finish it one day. 
> 
> And don’t worry, it’ll all end happily. I try to tell myself, if it doesn’t end happily, then it’s not the end yet. *sigh*


End file.
